The Speedwell Sailing Ship
The “Speedwell” was a 60-ton sailing vessel built in 1577 by the English
under the original name, “Swiftsure” in preparations for the war with Spain.
During the conflict, the “Swiftsure” participated in the fight against the
Spanish Armada. On the Earl of Essex’s 1596 Azores expedition, she served as the
ship of his second in command, Sir Gilly Merick. After the hostilities with Spain
ended, she was decommissioned in 1605 and renamed “Speedwell”.
In 1620, in Holland the Leiden Separatists bought the Speedwell. The ship
was refitted with two masts. On July 22, 1620, under the command of Captain
John Thomas Chappell, the ship sailed from Delfshaven to Southampton, England
to meet the sister ship, Mayflower, which had been chartered by merchant
investors to go the New World. In Southampton, they joined other Separatists
and others hired by the investors. The Speedwell was already leaking. The two
ships lay at anchor Southampton for almost two weeks while the Speedwell was
being repaired for the voyage to America. While waiting, many of the passengers
had to sell some belongs, foods and stores to cover the costs of repairs and port
fees.
On August 5, 1620, the two ships began their trip to the new world, but the
Speedwell was found to be taking on water. The two ships returned to Dartmouth
for repairs. On the second attempt, Mayflower and Speedwell sailed for about
300 nautical miles beyond Land’s End in Cornwall, but the Speedwell was leaking
again. The theory was the two new masts that were installed in Holland were too
big for the ship and the added stress caused holes to form in the ship’s hull.
Another theory was the leaks were caused by a loose board approximately two
feet long. Both vessels returned to Plymouth, England.
The Separatists decided to continue to America on the Mayflower. Eleven
people from the Speedwell joined with the other eighty people on the Mayflower.
For a third attempt, the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, England on September
6, 1620. On November 11, 1620, they landed at Plymouth Rock at Cape Cod
Harbor in Massachusetts.
Back in London, the Speedwell was sold at auction. After being repaired
again, the ship made a number of successful trips to the North America for its
new owners.
Speedwell’s replacement eventually followed, arriving at Plymouth Colony
one year later on November 9, 1621.
Captain John Thomas Chappell made several other trips to ports up and
down the eastern shores of the New World. On one of those trips, he and his son,
Thomas, landed in Jamestown, Virginia. They were the first Chappell ancestors to
set foot on American soil. In following years, Captain Chappell returned back and
forth to England several times, while his son stayed in Virginia and died at Charles
County, Virginia in 1665.
In 1656, a vessel named Speedwell made a voyage from England to Boston
carrying a party of Quakers. After arriving in Massachusetts Bay Colony under the
Governorship of John Endecott, they were deported for religious reasons and
obliged to return to England.
In 1751, a vessel named Speedwell, captained by Joseph Wilson, made a
voyage from Rotterdam to Halifax, Nova Scotia, carrying a party of “Foreign
Protestants”. They left Rotterdam on May 18, 1751 with 229 passengers, arriving
in Halifax with 212 passengers on July 10 or 21, 1751.